“Our restoration work is a gift to the Smokies, our community, and to those who had to leave their homes behind due to the creation of the park,” said Perry. “It felt amazing each day to drive the 2.5 miles from our campsite, along fields of elk, to our job site where all that mattered for a week’s time was completing this single project. Each day we’d look at the day’s accomplishments with true joy and inspiration.”

Built in 1902, the three-story barn sits near the Palmer House, which is one of the most-visited locations in the Big Cataloochee area. Perry’s team renovated the large timber bridge leading to the barn, replaced a 26-foot-long section of a 6x6 sill beam on the back of the barn, replaced support posts and select siding and made other structural improvements. 

The project followed a 2017 endeavor in which Perry and his crew spent a week camping in Little Cataloochee to restore the 19th-century Cook Cabin. Friends of the Smokies supporters Rich and Leigh Pettus then stepped forward with a donation to purchase renovation materials for the Palmer Barn. 

Perry, whose company is called The Hands of Sean Perry, partnered with the park and Friends of the Smokies on the project. Friends of the Smokies is an official nonprofit partner of the park and has raised more than $60 million to support critical park programs and maintenance projects. A video highlighting the restoration work is online at https://bit.ly/2sJef0y.